Negative Space
by Denebola
Summary: The beauty of what isn't there.... What would Hermione have seen in the Mirror of Erised? It's not what you might think.... Twist ending!


Summary: "The beauty of what isn't there... What would Hermione have seen in the Mirror of Erised?"

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything. Oh, and Harry Potter too. Also, if someone's already written this idea, I apologize. I think it's brilliant, and if someone already came up with it, they're even more of a genius than the idea itself.

This a "what-if" concerning what could have happened if Dumbledore had waited a little longer to relocate the Mirror in PS/SS.

* * *

**Negative Space**

It was all Ron's idea. At the time, Harry had to admit to himself that, yes, it was a funny prank, even if it was borderline malicious. It started out as a passing fancy of Ron's, which he had voiced aloud one evening as he and Harry played chess in the common room, waiting for Hermione to return from the library, where she was searching for information on Flamel. She had just returned yesterday from her parent's home, right in time for the term to start the next day. Neither Harry nor Ron had yet had the chance to tell Hermione of Harry's discovery, as she insisted on throwing herself into heavy research mode on the first day back.

_"Hey Harry, I wonder what Hermione would see in the Mirror?" Ron had asked, his Knight smacking one of Harry's poor pawns in the head and knocking him off the board with the blunt side of his broadsword._

_"Mmm. Probably something to do with books." Harry replied absent-mindedly, as he sought for a way to maneuver his bishop to take out one of Ron's white rooks._

_"We should take her to it, and see what she says!" Ron suggested gleefully, his tone conspirational._

Perhaps it could be blamed on the cozy environment of the Gryffindor common room, with it's warm reds and golds, and the cracking magical fireplace emanating a comforting heat all around them, or maybe Harry could just justify it with those Chocolate Frogs he'd eaten earlier that day that tasted_ 'funny'_, but he had eventually jokingly agreed with Ron that they should take Hermione to see the Mirror.

Ron had initially been against Harry returning to look in the Mirror, once he'd seen it himself, back when Harry had been dead-set on visiting his deceased parents for the third night in a row over the holidays. Harry had told him about how he'd come upon Dumbledore in the unused classroom, who proceeded to inform him of what the Mirror truly showed, and asked him never to go looking for it in the castle again, as it was to be moved once the holidays were over, and it could be a dangerous thing to unhappy people. So it was a bit surprising to Harry that Ron would want to visit the Mirror one last time, with Hermione, before it was relocated.

Ron's spin on the idea was to take her to the Mirror, and ask her what she saw, explaining that the mirror had the power to see the _future_, but that he and Harry couldn't get it to work right, and could she _pleasepleasepleasehelpthemfigureitout?_

Despite her initial usual protestations of rule-breaking, Ron knew that both Hermione's curiosity and inherent need to show off her brains would get her to go. After Hermione returned from the library, and was convinced to accompany them, the three waited for everyone else to go to bed, and snuck out into the darkened corridors under Harry's cloak.

"Come on Hermione, it's really amazing." Ron insisted, ushering the bushy haired girl ahead of him, as Harry lead the way down the corridor and towards the library, where he planned to look for the now familiar suit of armor located by the room that housed the Mirror.

"Ron, if this is just one of your hair-brained schemes to get me to tell you the answers to next week's Charms exam-" Hermione began whispering sharply, when Harry suddenly stopped in front of her, causing her to bump into him, and Ron to crash into her, almost knocking all three of them over.

"Shhh!" Harry hissed, standing completely still and listening carefully. Hermione and Ron behind him froze as well, holding their breaths.

Down the way, the three students could hear the malicious cackling of Peeves the Poltergeist as he no doubt broke something that didn't belong to him.

Harry grabbed Hermione's arm, who in turn grabbed Ron's, and lead the three of them down a corridor to the left, towards the library and away from Peeves and his penchant for spotting them at _the_ most inopportune moments.

After a few tense minutes of silence, they passed the library and both Harry and Ron attempted to remember the route to the unused classroom while avoiding anyone who may be patrolling after hours. Harry first spotted the suit of armor, and using it as a reference point, they finally reached the room that contained the legendary Mirror of Erised. Unknown to Hermione, of course.

Harry walked into the room, passing the neglected desks and chairs piled against the walls, and stopped before he reached the mirror, standing outside of it's field of view.

Pulling the cloak off of himself and his two friends, Harry motioned to the Mirror. "Here we are." He told Hermione, sending Ron a scolding look when he saw that the redhead could barely contain his glee.

Ron quickly walked around the other two, and stood directly in front of the Mirror. Harry could tell by his expression that Ron was still in awe of the image it reflected.

Hermione stayed standing beside Harry, observing the Mirror from a distance.

"That's a strange looking language..." She murmured, trying to decipher the inscription on the top of the tall golden frame that reached the ceiling.

_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._

"Well it's obviously important, if someone hid it in a room like this." Hermione stated. "W-what do you see?" She asked Ron hesitantly, as he was still marveling in front of the Mirror.

Seeming to catch himself, with visible effort, he looked away from his heart's desire, and addressed Hermione, a melancholy look in his eyes. "I see... myself, holding next week's Charms exam, but I can't see what I got on it..." Ron lied, looking guilty for the first time since he'd hatched his plan.

"Maybe it's a sign that you should study for it." Harry joked, trying to lighten the mood. Hermione turned to him, curious.

"What do you see in the mirror, Harry?" She asked, not noticing Ron frantically shaking his head at Harry from behind her.

"I... don't see anything. That's why we need your help. I can't get it to work for me." Harry replied after a second's hesitation, feeling a knot form in the pit of his stomach at the fabrication. Ron nodded at him from behind Hermione, grinning.

"Hmm." Hermione turned around to examine the Mirror, and Ron immediately straightened up and tried not to look excited.

"Go try it out! See what you... see..." Ron suggested, gently pulling Hermione towards the Mirror as he pivoted himself around her to stand beside Harry.

As Hermione slowly approached the Mirror, Harry began to truly regret their decision to go through with acting on Ron's whim; he thought about how he would feel if someone had manipulated him into viewing his parents' smiling faces, _knowing_ that it was a false reality, and taking pleasure in that knowledge.

Just as he was about to reach out and grab her, and lead them all away from this hopeless room, and the unbearably cruel Mirror it contained, Hermione did something that surprised him.

She laughed.

Ron raised his eyebrows and looked at Harry sideways.

"Weird." Was all Hermione said, in a bemused voice. She looked over at them, then at the Mirror again, before scoffing.

"Well...?" Ron urged, taking a step towards her.

"It must be broken or something." Hermione answered, shrugging.

"What do you see?" Harry asked quietly, unmoving and making an effort to not look at even the frame of the Mirror.

_It would be years until Harry and Ron could truly comprehend all the meaning of what Hermione saw in the Mirror of Erised that night._

"Us."

Ron started. _"You and Harry!"_ He exclaimed, incredulous.

Hermione turned and looked at him like he was crazy. "All of us. The three of us."

Ron pulled back; his posture reminded Harry of a deflating balloon.

"How do you mean?" Harry asked seriously.

"We're grinning like idiots... It's a bit creepy." Hermione replied offhand, amused by the reflection she saw in the Mirror.

"So it's just us three? What do we look like?" Ron questioned, quickly looking over at Harry in confusion.

"Like we do right now." Hermione said. "Perhaps something good is going to happen soon?" She pondered, stepping closer to the Mirror.

_"I doubt it."_ Harry muttered so low that the others couldn't hear.

"We look _exactly _like we do right now?" Ron pressed, a tinge of disappointment piercing into his voice.

"_Yes_, Ron! We-" when Hermione was so close she almost had her nose against the glass, she stopped abruptly.

"_Whoa_... Wait..." She whispered, a look of dawning on her face.

"What is it?" Ron asked eagerly.

_"What is this thing?"_ Hermione suddenly asked, her voice bordering on alarm.

"What do you see?" Harry asked again, unable to dismiss the haunted look in Hermione's eyes.

"It- you... there's no way this mirror shows the future." Hermione stated solemnly.

"Why not?" Harry asked, holding his breath.

Hermione took one last lingering look at the reflection of her heart's desire in the Mirror, before turning to Harry with tears in her eyes.

"Because you don't have your scar."

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Author's Note: No romance! But did I have you going there for a second? _Did I, did I? _I'm quite pleased with myself for writing this; if only because I felt an urgency to have it posted before someone else wrote it. After I thought of what Hermione could _possibly_ see in the Mirror, this seemed kind of _"Well, duh!"_. What do you think? Thanks for reading, and _pleasepleasepleasereview! _Lastly, try saying "Ron's white rooks" five times fast. Scary, isn't it? 


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